


Cold Feet, Empty Beds and the Return of the Melodrama

by Sole_Sakuma



Category: Arashi (Band), KAT-TUN (Band)
Genre: M/M, Remix, Remixed, Telephone Challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-27
Updated: 2011-11-27
Packaged: 2017-10-26 10:17:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/281888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sole_Sakuma/pseuds/Sole_Sakuma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One morning, Jun wakes up to an empty apartment and then a week of waiting ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cold Feet, Empty Beds and the Return of the Melodrama

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Apart//Together](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/5435) by carmine_pink. 



> Written for teh [JE Telephone Challenge](http://je-telephone.livejournal.com/).
> 
> I took the plot of the original and twisted to fit a different pairing.

The cold slowly crept its way up from his feet and Jun tried to steal Kame's warmth, only to wake up to an empty bed. It wasn't completely unexpected, really. Weekdays were hectic and it was perfectly understandable if Kame had to dash off to work or something.

He went to the kitchen and made himself some coffee. He breathed in the strong scent and smiled. At least he had the morning off and could enjoy the simpler pleasures of life.

He took a glass and filled it with water. Then he walked towards the balcony and watered his fern. It was the only plant in the apartment because no other plant was tough enough to resist a lifetime of neglect and absent house owners.

He had bought it for Kame as a first anniversary gift, but since they had never agreed on what counted as their anniversary, he had kept it because its slick, subdued green cheered up Jun's apartment and he didn't trust anybody else not to let it die.

Their fifth anniversary was probably coming up, but they still disagreed on when exactly that was - Jun was of the opinion a first kiss was perfectly nice as a relationship's starting point, Kame was of a more risque disposition.

When Jun noticed Kame's clothes were not in the closet, he started to worry - but maybe he needed that particular T-shirt and those particular jeans and his toothbrush and all the other things he had scattered thorough the house in five years.

So he kept the bubbling worry just beneath the surface and carried on the idol way.

But when he got back at night and the clothes were still gone and Kame had even took the books and hadn't called to tell him anything - not even a short message with just a heart and a smile -, Jun's mind decided to stage a full-blown romantic paranoia circus. There were no recent mistakes he could think of, no late nights with Arashi or midnight calls by random girls from his past, not even a shirt taken without permission or a pair shoes ruined.

So of course once upon a time, midnight flights had been a common occurrence in their relationship but that was before they had decided to stop being idiots. In fact, the worst that could be said about their last six months together was that they had been a lazy stretch of days languorously idling by. No big fights, not much time apart, just comfy, warm routine.

He opened his kitchen cupboards, took out all the ingredients he needed and displayed them nicely on the kitchen counter. Way too much food for one person.

Jun cooked silently and efficiently, but it was difficult not to have Kame even more silently handing him every ingredient and tasting every sauce.

Cooking always made sense and if you followed the instructions, it'd come out perfect and people would love it. Screwing up a souffle was infinitely harder than screwing up relationships.

Jun threw noodles into water and sighed. The best part of cooking was seeing somebody's eyes sparkle. Telling himself how awesome his cooking was never worked, even if he said it out loud - he knew that, he had tried to make it work for years.

He smiled and called Aiba.

Thirty minutes later, his bandmate was at the door, carrying a huge grin and two bottles of wine.

And six hours later, they were both trying to deal with work while hung-over, but it could be worse.

Not that trying to remember some complex choreography when your brain is beating and your eyes barely open was easy or nice. And Jun knew, deep down, that the choreography was fairly simple.

His arms just didn't follow his orders, instead preferring to bend in awkward angles and miss beats by seconds. He took off his sweatshirt and threw it down to the floor. He was seriously considering stomping on it when he remembered it wasn't even his.

'Fuck you, Kame,' he muttered and reconsidered the stomping. People who broke up with you without notice didn't deserve compassion and their clothes didn't either.

'Kame isn't here,' Ohno said and Jun flinched. Sometimes, Ohno moved like a geriatric ninja and then, once he was close to you, he chose the worst possible words at the worst possible moment.

'I know. That's the fucking problem.'

'Well, he's not a back-up dancer anymore, isn't he? He has no reason to be here.'

'But he does have reasons to be at home, with me, and he's not and he hasn't called and this is grossly unprofessional, right?'

Ohno nodded. 'But we're _always_ gross and unprofessional, so I won't tell the manager.'

'You're going to make me laugh and I don't want to, you asshole.'

'Oh, it's worse than that. I'm here to make you learn the choreography. You'll be exhausted by the end of it. Exhausted and unable to _think_.'

Jun appreciated the pain and the exhaustion clouding his mind, but he still noticed that he was being welcomed by an empty apartment that was not making any effort to hide Kame's absence. It was not like Jun was used to come home to a hot dinner and some useless chatter, but at least cleaned dishes in the sink and some food left in the refrigerator were familiar. And he missed it. He missed every little mark that Kame had left, every habit he hadn't even noticed.

He couldn't even shower in peace, because he could take all the time he wanted without somebody asking him to hurry. And everything was still where he had left it and there'd be no more empty bottles of shampoo that were full last time he used them.

He turned on the TV. Nobody to watch baseball with, nobody to yell at him to turn the volume down because damn, they had work to do tomorrow.

And then he would have to go to bed and it'd be cold, wide and uncaring. Even the added benefit of stretching his legs couldn't replace cold feet next to his.

He needed noise. He needed company. So he called Nino.

And even if trying to sleep on your sofa while somebody rummages through your DVDs and asks loudly where's the porn didn't beat cuddling, it did beat insomnia.

When he woke up, Nino was already sitting at the table.

'I'm starving. Cook me something. I know you like that.'

Jun just mumbled.

'Oh, but you did feed Aiba-chan! I thought _I_ was your favorite.'

Jun started to make coffee. Nino wasn't getting anything more elaborate than that. 'Right. That's why I invite you when I want to sleep.'

'Yeah, that was a little inconsiderate, but I shall have my revenge.'

'Next time you break up with somebody, I'll be your human pillow.'

'Jun... are you sure about that? The breaking up, I mean.'

Jun turned around and just faced his soon-to-be former friend if any of his suspicions were true.

Nino fidgeted on his seat. 'I might have talked to him and no, don't pull that face. I just want to note that no, he doesn't consider you've broken up.'

'He's not on tour, he hasn't got any location filming. He left _in the middle of the night_ and took his stuff with him, what else am I supposed to think?'

'That you did that exact same thing three years ago? And I remember it. It was _my_ couch you slept in during that whole ordeal. He probably thinks that's the way you roll.'

'And what am I supposed to do, then? Just wait?'

Nino shrugged. 'Look, we're late for work and I don't want to get a stern lecture courtesy of Sho,' he said after a pause.

Jun imagined the scene. 'Let's hurry up then, I'm not really in the mood to talk with Sho.'

But it was unavoidable and Jun knew it the moment he walked into their dressing room. Sho was sitting on a couch, with his arms folded and the demeanor of a very cross grandmother. He didn't even look at Jun.

'I'm not even that late,' Jun said and then sat next to him.

'It's not that.' Sho unfolded his arms and then crossed them again. 'You could've called me, you know?'

'Call you? What for?'

'Eat pasta. Sleepover. Whatever. I'm worried too, you know?'

Jun snorted. 'I know that.' He walked towards Sho. 'But I only talk to you if I think I'm making a mistake. You have a way to make me reconsider, but I'm not taking any decisions right now. So don't worry.'

'So no break ups yet?'

'Have you talked to Nino?'

'Yes, but that's not the point. My point is - you're really not thinking about decisions that you later regret?'

Jun closed his eyes. 'You know, I really did think you'd tell me to break up.'

'Three years ago, maybe, but it'd be a waste now. You guys work most of the time, this is just a hiccup in your happiness.'

'Please tell me you didn't include that line in any of your raps,' Jun said, opening his eyes to stare at Sho.

'I thought about that, but the producer decided against it. It's not that bad, though. It's really descriptive.'

'I guess... but that means all I can is sit around and wait. And I hate...'

'Waiting. Yes, I know that, but you just have to hope it'll be a short wait.'

*

When three days later, Kame showed up on their doorstep without an explanation but with a weary look, Jun tried to think of all the anger he had felt, of every witty comeback he had imagined.

But all he could muster up was a smile. 'Welcome back.'

Kame's eyes opened wide. 'I'm... I'm glad I'm home,' he said and he smiled back.


End file.
